1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to aircraft and, in particular, to aircraft maintenance. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for providing collaboration between persons in different locations on aircraft maintenance issues.
2. Background
Aircraft maintenance may include a number of different operations. These operations may include, for example, inspection, modification, upgrading, reworking, reconfiguration, and/or performing other operations on an aircraft.
In aircraft maintenance, different components of aircraft may be removed or installed. Additionally, different components may be reworked while on the aircraft or removed from the aircraft.
Maintenance on aircraft may be performed on a regularly scheduled basis or in response to an indication that maintenance may be needed. For example, maintenance may be performed to rework a composite skin panel on the fuselage of an aircraft in response to the detection of an inconsistency on the skin panel. This inconsistency may, in some cases, involve repainting the surface of the skin panel. In other instances, the maintenance may involve reworking portions of the skin panel to reduce or remove the inconsistency.
In yet another example, maintenance may be performed on various systems in the aircraft. For example, an electrical system connecting components in the aircraft may require maintenance to provide a desired level of performance. This maintenance may include identifying and replacing a wiring harness or other components in the electrical system or other system.
When maintenance is performed at an unscheduled time, the aircraft is unavailable for use in transporting people and/or cargo. Further, unexpected maintenance on the aircraft may cause a delay in the flight or even a cancellation of the flight. When an aircraft is on the ground for this type of maintenance, the cost to the airline or other owner of the aircraft is expensive.
In some cases, the maintenance may require hours, days, or even weeks. As a result, the airline may have a reduced capacity in providing services or may use less-efficient aircraft to take the place of the aircraft on the ground for maintenance. In some cases, an airline may plan for these types of unexpected maintenance by having additional aircraft available. The additional aircraft, however, results in increased costs in the purchase and maintenance of those aircraft. Having extra aircraft for these situations may reduce the possibility that a particular flight may be delayed and/or cancelled.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a method and apparatus that takes into account at least some of the issues discussed above, as well as possibly other issues.